


Rise Like A Phoenix

by musikfurfreiheit



Category: Delain (Band), Nightwish
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 22:38:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4979338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musikfurfreiheit/pseuds/musikfurfreiheit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>‘We went through a though period but a phoenix rises from its ashes, just like we want to do.’</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

If there was one law Charlotte hated, it was Murphy’s law. Everything seemed to go wrong and Murphy was the only one to blame. She slept through her alarm, had a flat tire on her way to school, forgot her lunch at home, lost her earring somewhere at school  and now Murphy did it again. The young redhead kept staring at the ‘out of order’ sign on the elevator, hoping that it would disappear if she looked at it long enough. She really wasn’t in the mood to climb the stairs for 7 floors just because the universe was mad at her for some reason, but in the end she had no choice. With a sigh she opened the door to the staircase and promised herself that she was allowed to eat the candy in her pocket when she reached her destination.

Every time she placed her foot on the next step she came closer to the candy and she almost made a small victory dance when she finally reached the seventh floor. The candy that’d been in her pocket was already on its way to her stomach by the time Charlotte reached the door of her friend and took a moment to catch her breath before knocking the door. The door opened a few moments later and both girls on either side of the doorway frowned as they looked at each other.

Charlotte had known Sharon and Tarja for a while now and she was very sure that this was the right apartment, even though she had never seen the other girl before. She was tall and had long brown hair that hid one of her bright blue eyes. Her nose was decorated with the same nose piercing as Charlotte’s and a hint of some freckles.

‘Yes…?’ And she had a voice that almost seemed too sweet for her appearance.

‘I’m looking for Sharon.’ Charlotte answered, still unable to look away from the other girl.

‘Oh, she isn’t home yet.’

‘Damn Murphy.’ Charlotte mumbled.

‘What?’

‘No, it’s nothing. Do you know when she’ll be home? We have plans.’

‘As far as I know she can be home any minute.’ The girl shrugged. ‘I guess you can wait inside if you want to?’

Charlotte thanked her with a smile as she entered the apartment. The other girl sat down at the table and continued her drawing while completely ignoring Charlotte. The redhead sat down on the couch and looked around, uncomfortable with the silence. She was in the apartment of two of her friends, neither of them seemed to be home but there was this mysterious girl she’d never seen before. What if she was a serial killer that killed Sharon and Tarja and was now planning Charlotte’s murder?

‘Who are you and what are you doing here?’ Charlotte suddenly asked, no longer able to stand the silence.

‘My name is Floor.’ The girl answered as she looked up for a second. ‘I’m a classmate of Tarja and she lets me work here every now and then. It’s more quiet here than at home.’

‘I didn’t know Tarja took art classes?’

‘Oh, no, this isn’t homework. My father is a tattoo artist and I help him out in the weekends. I’m preparing a tattoo for a costumer.’

The silence between them returned as Charlotte followed the movements of Floor’s hands. Every line was precise and carefully placed on exactly the right spot. She witnessed how flowers were born from the ink and how they grew as Floor seemed to caress them. It was obvious that the girl was talented and Charlotte smiled as she saw her concentrated face.

‘Do you have any tattoo’s yourself?’ Charlotte asked when Floor finished another flower.

‘Of course I do, want to see them?’

‘Sure!’

‘This was my first one, I did it myself.’ Floor smiled before taking off one of her bracelets and revealing a small simple butterfly on her wrist. She then stood up and lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing flowers on her left hip.

‘Symbol for my name, also done myself.’

‘And what about your back?’ Charlotte asked curious as she saw a hint of a drawing on the girl’s back.

Floor seemed to hesitate, but still took off her shirt before placing it on the chair she’d been sitting on. Charlotte slightly gasped as she saw the other girl’s abdomen and silently admired her body before she realized Floor was also unclasping her bra. Still holding the bra in place with her hands, Floor turned around and surprised the redhead once again. The phoenix that stared at Charlotte almost seemed real, as if it could fly away any moment. Floor’s entire back was covered with flames and golden feathers but it was obvious that the art piece wasn’t finished yet.

‘Woow…’ Charlotte softly whispered.

‘It’s a project of me and my father.’ Floor mumbled as she put her bra back on. ‘We started it after my mother died. We went through a though period but a phoenix rises from its ashes, just like I want to do.’

‘I’m sorry to hear about your mother, but your tattoo is really beautiful.’

‘Thanks.’

Their conversation was interrupted as the door of the apartment opened again. Sharon was completely out of breath as she entered the apartment, probably from climbing the stairs. She dropped her bag in a corner and smiled as she saw the two other girls.

‘Am I interrupting something?’

‘Floor showed her tattoo.’

‘Yeah, it’s pretty cool.’ Sharon smiled. ‘Alright, I’ll go to the bathroom very quickly and then we can go, Charlie.’

‘So you are Charlie.’ Floor said when the door of the bathroom fell shut and she put her shirt back on.

‘Actually it’s Charlotte, but they call me Charlie. Why?’

‘Oh, nothing.’

The redhead frowned as she watched Floor again but decided not to comment. There was something about Floor, something in her movements that reflected itself in her eyes and smile. Something like spark, or a fire that was ready to give birth to a new phoenix.


	2. Chapter 2

Nerves mixed with metal music ran through Charlotte’s veins as she climbed the stairs to the second floor of the small building. The music had greeted her when she opened the door, together with a sign that told her the tattoo studio was upstairs. The laughing skeletons on the walls stared at her as the distance between her and the door got smaller and Charlotte was relieved when she finally pushed the door open. The studio was cool and the buzzing of the needle sounded over the music. The walls were covered with graffiti art and pictures of tattoos and Charlotte was immediately fascinated by the iguana in the middle of the room.

‘Just a second!’

Charlotte smiled as she heard Floor’s voice coming from the corner of the room. Still looking around she followed the noise of the buzzing and she was surprised she didn’t find Floor with a costumer. The girl was tattooing herself and she recognized the drawing on her thigh as the tail of the phoenix. In silence she watched how the tail changed from a drawing to an actual tail on fire.

‘Doesn’t it hurt to do it yourself?’ Charlotte asked when Floor started cleaning everything.

‘Not more than when someone else does it.’ Floor smiled. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘I… was curious. And I might have thought about getting a tattoo.’

‘Oh really? Sit down.’ Floor said as she pulled another chair next to hers. ‘Tell me about it.’

‘Well, it’s just a rough idea but, I’d want a feather of a peacock, on my arm.’

‘This one?’ Floor asked as she pointed at Charlotte’s left arm.

‘Yeah. It would be mostly green and blue, with a pink-ish center in the top. You know, like a real one.’

‘I think I know exactly what you mean.’

Excitement filled Floor’s eyes as she grabbed some markers and gently took hold of Charlotte’s arm. She bit her lip as she carefully placed the tip of a blue marker on her skin and very precisely started drawing the feather. Charlotte almost didn’t dare to move a muscle as she saw how the drawing actually started looking like a feather and was barely aware that she was holding her breath. Time seemed nonexistent as she watched Floor using her magical talent. Neither of them noticed it when the cd stopped playing, they just sat there looking at the birth of a peacock feather. Even after Floor was done and had placed all the markers back, it took over a minute before she dared to speak.

‘Sharon often talks about you.’ Floor softly said, as if she was afraid to end the magical moment. ‘She often says she has plans with Charlie or tells us a joke she heard from Charlie. Charlie really sounded like a great person that I really wanted to meet and I’ll be honest, that really confused me.’

‘Why would it confuse you?’

‘Because Charlie sounded so amazing and sweet and I thought I was falling for a guy I had never even met. But yesterday everything suddenly made sense. Of course Charlie is short for Charlotte, of course you’re a girl, how could I ever think I was falling for a guy?’

‘Sexuality is a strange concept.’ Charlotte said, still staring at her arm.

‘I know, I just wanted to… I don’t know what I wanted to do.’ Floor nervously laughed. ‘Do you like the design?’

‘I love it!’ Charlotte smiled, glad that they changed the subject. ‘You’re really talented.’

‘My dad is a great teacher. And it really suits you, you should consider actually getting it done.’

‘If I do, will you tattoo me?’

‘It would be an honor.’

A smile had almost settled itself permanently on her lips by the time Charlotte left the tattoo studio. She felt a happy rush every time she looked at her arm but if she was honest to herself she wasn’t sure if the tingling feeling was because of the ink. Floor liked her, or at least Charlie, and she felt her blood rushing to her cheeks as she thought about the amazing abs she had seen the first time they met. Floor had fascinated her from the very first moment and knowing that Floor liked her made her smile uncontrollably. A lot of things had gone wrong the day they met, but maybe that Murphy guy wasn’t that bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

The buzzing sound of the needle had been filling the studio for over an hour. Charlotte’s arm was itching and hurt a little and even though the itch spread slowly through her entire body, she did not dare to move. Her mind didn’t register the growing cramp in her shoulder as it was too focused on the hand that held her arm down. She was fascinated by Floor’s movements, by how precisely she created a colorful peacock feather out of nothing. In the beginning she’d been surprised by the buzzing on her skin and the needle breaking through it repeatedly, but that feeling had quickly faded.

The tattoo wasn’t finished yet but she already loved it. The colors were so vivid, every line in exactly the right spot. Secretly Charlotte wondered if the feather would move if she softly blew some air on her arm.

The feather stayed in place as Floor suddenly pulled back and looked at her now finished work. The tattoo wasn’t anything less than perfect and so was the smile on the artist’s lips. A warm feeling spread through Charlotte’s body as she kept her eyes on the smile while the other girl carefully spread a salve over the feather. No matter how beautiful her tattoo was and how much she loved it, she preferred looking at Floor and blushed as their eyes met.

‘You can move your arm if you want.’ Unable to look away from Floor’s eyes Charlotte slowly moved her fingers and grimaced as she felt how stiff they were. ‘Does it hurt?’

‘Yeah, a little, but it’s fine. I love the tattoo! It’s so cool that you can do that.’

‘I noticed.’ Floor smiled. ‘I don’t think you looked away for a single second. Do you want to try it?’

‘What? No, no, I don’t want to ruin anyone’s tattoo. I mean, I’ve never done it and I can’t draw and…’

Charlotte’s voice died as Floor stood and unbuttoned her pants. The redhead’s mouth went dry as the other girl revealed the tattooed skin of her thighs and Charlotte felt the sudden desire to run her finger over the outlines of the tattoo.

‘Wha-What are you doing?’

‘Teaching you the art of tattooing.’ Floor smiled. ‘This is the tail of the Fenix. I already did the outlines so it only needs to be colored. Come on, sit down.’

Not sure if this was a good idea Charlotte sat down next to the other girl and tried to not stare at her long legs. She was very well aware of the fact that she shouldn’t be doing this for various reasons. She could hurt the other girl and ruin the growing masterpiece, she’d had to touch those glorious legs, what if she touched Floor on the wrong place? Sure, she trusted Floor to make a permanent drawing on her skin but it scared her that the other girl trusted her to do the same.

‘You look scared.’ Floor laughed as she grabbed Charlotte’s hand. ‘Don’t worry, I’m used to pain and don’t forget I was also my own first victim. Here, hold it like this.’

Charlotte felt her heartbeat increasing the moment her fingers touched the material of the device. The metal still felt warm from Floor’s hand that was now gently covering her own and guiding it towards the ink. Charlotte barely dared to blink, she was scared to miss anything from what was happening. Fascinated she watched how the needle disappeared in the red ink before it moved towards the artist’s leg. She let out a surprised sound when the device started buzzing and Floor’s hand started moving in circles.

It was almost magical how the skin turned red and the phoenix’s tail seemed to come alive just like the feather on her arm. Charlotte was getting so wrapped up in watching that she froze as Floor’s hand disappeared and she signed her to go on. Careful not to hurt the other girl or to make any mistakes, Charlotte repeated the circling movements and grew more confident as Floor didn’t seem to stop her. It was only when she finished the part between the outlines that the artist stopped her and guided her hand and the device to another part of her leg.

‘Write your initials.’

‘JCW? Why?’ Charlotte asked confused.

‘Because you’re the first person besides my dad to tattoo me. And because you’re going to become part of my “rising like a phoenix” project since you’ll be the first girl I’m going to kiss. What’s the J for?’

‘Jo-Johanna.’ Charlotte answered surprised. ‘My full name is Johanna Charlotte Wessels. What do you mean the first girl you’ll kiss?’

‘Easy, I never kissed a girl before but I’m going to kiss you when we’re done drawing on each other.’

The smile that played on the brunettes lips and the thought of kissing then made Charlotte speechless. Her heart was beating so loud that Floor had to hear it for sure, the butterflies in her stomach were about the break free and she wanted to tell the entire world that the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen was about to kiss her. Instead she moved the needle over Floor’s skin with slightly shaking hands, making sure the letters still looked sort of graceful. With every letter that appeared she got closer to the awaiting kiss and her smile grew.

The moments in which Floor put away the device and spread the salve over her skin became vague memories as Floor cupped her cheek before leaning in and gently kissing her. The kiss started careful but it wasn’t long before Charlotte lost herself in it. Floor’s lips were soft and warm, like a flame that slowly spread through the girls bodies. The flame became a full grown fire and Charlotte believed that she could actually feel a phoenix rising from its ashes.


End file.
